Bottle-capping machine.



T. A. NISSINEN.

BOTTLE GAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED mu. 4, 1912..

' Patented NOV. 5, 1912.

3&2.

-UNITED STATES PATENT DFFICE TOIMI A. NISSINEN, or NEW YORK, it; it; ASSIGNOR To FREDERICK o. ZINSSER, F

HASTINGS-UPON-HUDSON, NEW YORK.

invented certain new and norrnnoarrmeothoriinn Be it known that I, Tonu A. NIss NEN, a

subject of the, Czar of Russia, a Egan-est dent of Helsingfors, Finland, at present. re-

N ew' York, in theborsiding at the city of New York, have ough of Bronxnnd State of Machines, of

ments in Bottle-Capping clear, and eX which the following is a full, act description. I

vThis invention relates to machines and devices for applying sealing caps to bottles companion application for patent and similar vessels; The-object of,the invention is to protvide amachine or device for carrying out the method described and claimed in my Serial No. 669,339, filed Jan. 4, 1912. The-method referred to in said application consists, generally stated, in exerting a downward pressure upon apart of the flange of the cap i I between its outeredge and the body of the cap, while simultaneously supporting the outer edge of thefiange, to draw the cap videithe sealing pressure, and finall ownover the mouth of the bottle. and prai- Wit drawing the support from beneath te edge and continuing the downward pressure on the intermediate portion of the flange to, lock the latter under the bead on the bottle.

Various forms of capping heads or devices may be used for accomplishing this action upon the bottle cap, but the form I have disclosed is believed to be the most simple and effective. The. same will nowbe described in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a vertical central section of the capping head showing one ofv the caps therein ready for application to the bottle. Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5, are fragmentary sec .tional views of the capping head, the cap and the bottle, showing the successive stages of themet-hod of applying the cap to the bottle.- I

The cap adapted for this method of closure comprises the usual body portion or disk 1, a substantially vertical annular flange 2 depending therefrom, and a substantially horizontal corrugated rim 3 eX- tending radially outward from the lower edge'of the verticalfiange 2. The rim 3, however, is not necessarily horizontal, as it may incline slightly upward or downward without departing from the spirit of the inuseful liiip iove- It will be Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

Application filed a ra 4; 'a1'2'. Serial No. 669,338.

vent-ion ;:Ihe usual sealing disk 5 is co n fined within the cap andagainst the disk *1.

) he capping head, as illustrated, consists v, of the tubularportion 6 in which is located a socket 7 having a conical axial chamber 8 therein, Vithin this conical chamber'is placed a diet) made preferably in three f or more sections separated on verticaljl dial planesw by slight spaces 10, enabling lthe die to ;expand and contract, which ,movements are accomplished-by causing the dieto travel vertically along the conical chamber against the walls on which it rests. The limit of this vertical movement iS determined by the shoulder at the upper extremity of" the conical chamber and b the ringlo at the ,lower extremity thereof, the latter screwing upon the tube 6 and serving as aretainer for thefdie an'd'socket 7,]as well'as astop for the former. Around the lower inner surface, of the die 1s formed an annular groove 1 1, of such width vertically as to just receive the corrugated edge of the rim The lower side of this groove is bounded by a ledge 12, while the upper side is bounded by the over-hang 13, which extends toward the vertical axis of'the die substan-' tially more thanthe. ledge 12,the inner face of. the over-hang having a curved" surfacel4. i

Referring now .to the operation by which the capping head applies the cap to the bottle, the cap is first adjusted in the die preparatory to applying it to 'the bottle, as shown'lin Fig. 1, the rim of the cap fitting friction tight into the entrance of the roove 11. A bottle is then placed centrally elow the cap and either the capping head is brought downward or the bottle is forced upward to make the capping stroke. In

either case, after-the top of the bottle enters and seats Within the cap, the die 9 moves upward, and, owing to the conical shape of the socket, also inward, causing the rim 3 to enter the annular groove l 1, as seen in Fig. 2.

. Let us now consider that the position of the bottle remains fixed and the capping head moves downward, although thehsame effects will be produced if thecapping head remains fixed and the bottle moves upward. seen-that the outer edgeof the rim '3 is supported by the ledge 12, and sifhih'the downward movement of the over-hang 13 is uniform with that of the ledge 12, the former impinges upon the upper surface of the rim 3 at a point nearer the vertical flange 2, so that as the die 9 moves downward there Wlll be a drawing downward upon the vertical flange 2 which will comress the sealing disk 5 against the top of the bottle. The act-ion which takes place may be compared with that of a lever, the rim 3 having its fulcrum at the line where it joins the flange 2, with its free end supported upon the ledge 12, and with the power applied at an intermediate point by the over-hang 13. The free end or outer edge tends to move faster than the intermediate partwhich is acted upon by the over-hang, but since it can not do so, the pivotal point must yield downward and this motion is transmitted through the vertical bottle.

flange 2 to the top disk of the cap, which compresses the packing disk against the The pressure which may thus be obtained is limited only by the strength of the metal of which the cap is made. As the then unfolded and forced of the bottle immediately ment of the head capping head continues downwardthe edge of the rim '3' is gradually drawn out of the groove 11, and the metal of the rim is bowed toward the bottle neck, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, causing it to bend or form around and under the bead 16 on the bottle. The rim finally leaves the groove 11 entirely and is against the neck beneath the bead by therounded face of the over-hang 13, in which position the cap is held under the pressure that was initially applied. It will be seen that the bowing or inward movement of tlie intermediate portions of the flange is due to the fact that its outer extremity can not move as rapidly as the intermediate portions must, and as the metal must go somewhere, it naturally travels around and under the bead, and as the outer edge is not freed from the ledge 12 until the intermediate portions have been carried under the head, the pressure on the packing disk will not be eased to any extent when the outer edge of the rim leaves the ledge 12.

'It will be seen that the stroke of the cap ping head, or of the bottle, in the capping operation, may be of any length, regardless of the length of the bottle, since the moveofthe bottle through the hollow die 9 is unobstructed. It will be seen that in this capping head there is no plunger or support for the disk 1 of the cap, while the cap is being applied to the bottle, for

length of bottles,

the die upon the flange only of the cap. The

absence of this plunger avoids the necessity of regulating the stroke of the capping machine to compensate for variations in the and accordingly bottles varying in length within wide limits can be capped with this machine without danger of breakage, while at the same time imparting an eftective'seal to each bottle. Since the periphery of the cap is cramped in the groove during the capping operation, the die becomes a gripping device which acts only upon the edge of the cap and without the aid of the aforesaid plunger, cap down bottle.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A capping head provided with gripping means for embracing opposite faces of the flange of the cap, said means having a longitudinal movement with respect to the bottle whereby a sealing pressure is exerted upon the cap after the cap is seated upon the bottle, in combination with means for securing the cap while under such pressure, to the bottle. i

2. A capping head provided with means for gripping the flange of the cap, consisting of aninternal annular groove of such dimensions as to closely embrace the flange of a bottle cap above and beneath, said means having a longitudinal movement with respect to the bottle whereby after the cap is seated on the bottle the flange is positively engaged in the groove and a sealing pressure is exerted upon the cap.

3. In a bottle capping machine, a capping head having an internal annular groove of such dimensions as to closely embrace the flange of a bottle cap, the upper wall of the groove'extendingnearer the axis of the cap than. the lower wall, whereby a downward movement of the head with respect to the cap willcause the flange of the cap to be positively engaged between the walls of said groove and the cap be thereby drawn downward against the bottle.

In witness whereof, I subscribe my signature, in the presence of two witnesses;

TOIMI A. NISSINEN.

draws the Witnesses:

\VALoo M. CHAPIN, WILLIA C. LANG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, I C.

tightly over the mouth of the, 

